GAA chairman hits the jackpot – on his own club’s lotto!

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The chairman of a Galway GAA club has hit the jackpot – of his own club’s lotto!

John Connolly, Chairman of CLG Bhearna, matched four numbers (4, 14, 24 and 28) in the club’s lotto draw on Monday and won €10,700.

In doing so, he became the fourth jackpot winner of the Barna GAA lotto since November.

On April 1 last year, Barna GAA did an April Fool ‘skit’ in which they broke with tradition and held the draw on a Thursday, with the chairman pulling out Lotto Officer Murt Conneely’s winning numbers. This week, the reverse happened with Mr Conneely pulling out the chairman’s four numbers – but it was no joke, just coincidence!

John Connolly, a Fianna Fáil councillor in the city, said that his hitting the jackpot proved how anyone can win the Barna Lotto.

The club draws the numbers weekly live from O’Flaherty’s drycleaners and laundrette in the village, which is broadcast on Facebook for transparency and to advertise the draw.

John Connolly took part in Monday’s Facebook Live draw with club Lotto officers, Mr Conneely and Shane O’Flaherty.

Cllr Connolly said it was a coincidence that he won it but he has been buying tickets to support the club every since the Lotto was started in the early 1990s.

This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see the May 27 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.